Concordia University’s Dean of Arts and Sciences, André Roy and Senior Advisor to the Dean, Emilie Champagne, visited Bath Spa University to visit three campuses to identify existing collaborative links and projects – and to identify areas of common interest and potential collaboration with Bath Spa University and across the global network. André Roy was appointed as Dean in 2014; previously he’d served as chair of the Department of Geography and associate dean of research in the Faculty of Arts and Science at Université de Montréal, and most recently dean of the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo. As Senior Advisor to the Dean, Emilie Champagne is responsible for providing executive-level support to the Dean and other Senior Members of the decanal team. She is responsible for the execution of a broad and complex set of assignments as delegated by the Dean. Coordinate strategic planning functions in all the mission areas. Emilie is also responsible for high-profile projects with direct impact on core operations and processes of the Faculty of Arts and Science. Concordia Concordia University currently has 35,000 undergraduates and 8,000 postgraduates. There are four faculties: Arts and Science (the largest Faculty); Engineering and Computer Science; Fine Arts; and the John Molson School of Business. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences:

• Humanities: Classics, Modern Languages and Linguistics, Communication Studies, English, Études françaises, History, Journalism, Liberal Arts College, Philosophy, School of Irish Studies, Theological Studies
• Science: Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Exercise Science, Geography, Planning and Environment, Mathematics and Statistics, Physics, Psychology, Science College
• Social Sciences: Applied Human Sciences, Economics, Education, Geography, Planning and Environment, Loyola College for Diversity and Sustainability, Political Science, Religions and Cultures, School of Community and Public Affairs, Simone de Beauvoir Institute, Sociology and Anthropology

Last year, the Faculty announced a series of strategic initiatives designed to shape the Faculty’s activities over the next nine years. This includes a comprehensive mapping project of their international collaborations and projects. Research centres include

• Centre for Human Relations and Community Studies (Arts & Sciences)
• Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Society and Culture (Arts & Sciences)
• Loyola Sustainability Research Centre (Arts & Sciences)
• Centre for the Arts in Human Development (Fine Arts)
• Hexagram-Concordia (Fine Arts: ‘research-creation in the fields of media arts, design, technology and digital culture’)
• Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling (University)
• Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance (University)
• Centre for Broadcasting and Journalism Studies (University)
• Technoculture, Art and Games (University),

GALA and Bath Spa Concordia was a founding partner of GALA, and started with the School of Fine Arts with Cynthia Hammond, a visual artist at Concordia. We have links with another visual artist, Kelly Thompson whose installation was exhibited on the MediaWall in 2015–16. Anita Taylor invited Leila Sujir to Bath Spa in 2013, and Leila has also been working with Anthony Head in connection with Illuminate Bath and Elastic 3D Space. This collaboration with Anita and Anthony has been supported by SSHRC grants and has also involved Sudhir Mudur, in the Computing Science department of Concordia. Leila will be visiting Bath next month. (NB. None of these people are based in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences) More recently, Laura Purcell-Gates visited Concordia, supported by a Bath Spa GALA Outreach award, to establish a possible teaching collaboration with Mark Sussman in object theatre: they discussed student exchanges and a possible joint MA programme.

Above: Cathy Leng, Emilie Champagne, André Roy, Rebecca McGuire-Snieckus, Ian Gadd, and Lizzie Watts